A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019
IN BRIEF
Woman reports robbery
near Smith Point
A 40-year-old Astoria woman said she was robbed
Tuesday afternoon while walking on a trail near Smith
Point.
A man reportedly grabbed her in a “bear hug” just
after 2 p.m. and stole currency and prescription medi-
cation from her pants pockets, police said.
The suspect was described as a white male, with a
medium height and build and shoulder-length brown
curly hair. He was also unshaven.
The suspect, reportedly wearing a dark color Car-
hartt-style jacket, a dark T-shirt and blue jeans, was
last seen running uphill toward Alameda Avenue.
Anyone with information can call the Astoria
Police Department at 503-325-4411.
Veterans’ advisory committee
meets in Seaside on Sept. 11
The next meeting of the advisory committee to the
Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs will be held
in Seaside.
The committee’s meetings are held at different
locations across the state and the next one will be at
the Holiday Inn Express on N. Holladay Drive on
Sept. 11. The public is invited to attend.
The committee is made up of veterans appointed
by the governor to provide counsel on veterans’ issues
and represent veterans’ concerns. Its nine members
help advise the director and staff of the Department of
Veterans’ Affairs.
Pearson hired as new CEO
for The Historic Trust
David Pearson, who spent two decades in man-
agement at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in
Astoria, will be the next CEO of The Historic Trust.
The trust manages historic properties in Vancouver,
Washington.
Pearson was deputy director of the Astoria museum
before he left in 2017 to become executive direc-
tor at the World of Speed Motorsports Museum in
Wilsonville.
“I am honored and privileged to be joining The
Historic Trust,” Pearson said in a statement.
“I look forward to getting to know my new com-
munity and continue building on the strong success
of this organization. Vancouver is at the very center
of the history of the Pacifi c Northwest, and the work
of The Historic Trust has been vital in preserving that
history. I am anxious to start sharing our story, and
helping the trust grow regionally and nationally, as
well.”
— The Astorian
Record-breaking run of
American shad on the river
American shad, a silvery bullet of a fi sh whose
home waters are on the East Coast, migrated into the
Columbia River basin this year in record numbers.
Nearly 7.5 million of the 18-inch, 3 to 8 pound fi sh
crossed Bonneville Dam, more than four times the
number of salmon and steelhead.
— Columbia Basin Bulletin
DEATHS
Aug. 27, 2019
CURTIS, Charles, 82,
of Astoria, died in Asto-
ria.
Hughes-Ransom
Mortuary & Cremato-
rium is in charge of the
arrangements.
KERSLAKE,
Bil-
lie Kay, 75, of Warren-
ton, died in Warrenton.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
Aug. 24, 2019
BOLES, Leanne, 68,
of Seaside, d ied in Sea-
side. A memorial service
will be held at a later date.
Hughes-Ransom Mortu-
ary & Crematorium is in
charge of the arrangements.
PONCE, Maria, 62,
of Mount Vernon, Wash-
ington, died in Astoria.
Hughes-Ransom Mortu-
ary & Crematorium is in
charge of the arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Theft
• Trace Lee Morris,
47, was arrested Tues-
day for theft in the fi rst
degree. Police said he
walked out of Safe-
way with a cart total-
ing over $1,000 worth
of groceries and other
items. Police arrested
him at the East Moor-
ing Basin parking lot. He
told police he took the
groceries to help people
who go hungry and sleep
outside.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Clatsop County Recreational Lands Planning and
Advisory Committee, 1 p.m., fourth fl oor, 800 Exchange
St., Astoria.
Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
Published Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday by EO Media Group,
949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
97103 Telephone 503-325-3211,
800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
The Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR
97103-0210
DailyAstorian.com
Circulation phone number:
503-325-3211
Periodicals postage paid at Astoria, OR
ADVERTISING OWNERSHIP
All advertising copy and illustrations
prepared by The Astorian become the
property of The Astorian and may not
be reproduced for any use without
explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT ©
Entire contents © Copyright,
2019 by The Astorian.
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF
CIRCULATIONS, INC.
Printed on
recycled paper
Subscription rates
Eff ective May 1, 2019
MAIL (IN COUNTY)
EZpay (per month) ...............................................................................................................$11.25
13 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$37.00
26 weeks in advance ...........................................................................................................$71.00
52 weeks in advance ........................................................................................................ $135.00
Out of County Rates available at 800-781-3214
DIGITAL
EZpay (per month) .................................................................................................................$8.00
Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer
Total Fisherman Guide Service owner Kevin Newell said it’s been the best tuna fi shing in his nearly 20 years of guiding.
A fi shing bonanza for albacore
Warmer water
could play role
By LUKE WHITTAKER
Chinook Observer
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— It’s been a summer of fre-
netic fi shing in the Pacifi c
Northwest, with rare sight-
ings and a record catch.
Recreational fi shermen
along the Oregon and Wash-
ington state coasts are report-
ing some of the best albacore
tuna fi shing in years, in addi-
tion to unusual sightings and
some unexpected bycatch, a
perceived result of warm-wa-
ter conditions offshore.
A Washington state record
92-pound bluefi n tuna was
reeled in off the southern
coast of Ilwaco by a recre-
ational angler Aug. 12, shat-
tering the previous record
set in 2014 by more than 50
pounds.
An abundance of alba-
core close to shore, some less
than 30 miles, has resulted in
a boon for local recreational
fl eets, as their relative prox-
imity has permitted more
boats to reach the fi sh in a
manageable amount of time.
Several recreational char-
ter skippers are reporting the
best tuna fi shing in years, with
dozens of tuna being caught
daily on trips out of Ilwaco,
Warrenton and Astoria.
Oregon is on track to set
a new seasonal record for
recreational albacore land-
ings, according to the Ore-
gon Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
Kevin Newell, the owner
of Astoria-based Total Fish-
erman Guide Service, said
it’s the best fi shing in his
nearly 20 years of guiding.
With no set daily limit for
albacore in Washington, rec-
reational fi shermen are per-
mitted to “plug the boat” with
as many fi sh as they can fi t.
15 miles offshore. Typically
albacore are found between
40 to 80 miles offshore, but
can be further depending on
water surface temperatures.
Hookups of Pacifi c blue
marlin and striped marlin,
often caught in the warmer
waters off the Baja Califor-
nia coast, have surprised sev-
eral fi shermen trolling off the
‘I THINK THIS WARM WATER
IS DOING SOME STRANGE THINGS
AND WE JUST DON’T QUITE
KNOW GOOD OR BAD. WITH
ALL THOSE OTHER SPECIES
SHOWING UP THIS HIGH IN
WASHINGTON AND OREGON,
YOU REALLY DON’T SEE THAT.’
Wayne Heikkila | executive director of the
Western Fishboat Owners Association
Shake N’ Bake owner
Mike Colbach has had sev-
eral 50-plus fi sh days on his
Ilwaco-based charter this
season. In 2018, Colbach
curtailed charter trips due
to poor tuna fi shing, but this
summer he’s adding dates to
the calendar and encouraging
customers to book.
During the Offshore Tuna
Classic in Ilwaco in late
July, each of the 30 partici-
pating boats caught tuna, a
rare occurrence, according
to tournament chairman Del
Stephens, who also reported
tuna were spotted less than
Washington coast. No offi cial
landings have been reported,
as the big fi sh regularly break
off lighter albacore rigs.
Increased landings of
bluefi n, big eye tuna, mahi-
mahi and mako sharks,
more commonly caught in
the South Pacifi c, have been
reported along with sight-
ings of rare species includ-
ing Humboldt squid and
blue whales. A large sunfi sh
washed ashore on Benson
Beach in Cape Disappoint-
ment State Park.
“It’s been kind of
unusual,” said Wayne Heik-
kila, the executive director of
the Western Fishboat Own-
ers Association, who moni-
tors the tuna fi shing season
coastwide from California to
Washington as part of non-
profi t representing 400 alba-
core fi shermen . “Guys have
been catching bluefi n, big
eye and mahi mahi.”
Heikkila said ocean con-
ditions could be causing the
catch anomalies.
“I think this warm water
is doing some strange things
and we just don’t quite know
good or bad. With all those
other species showing up
this high in Washington and
Oregon, you really don’t see
that. I’ve seen it in Califor-
nia during years when we’ve
had El Niños, sometimes you
catch some different species
off central California, but
there’s been a lot of different
species around this year,” he
said.
The warm water is impact-
ing fi sheries elsewhere, too.
“The water offshore is
70 degrees and (if you look
at water charts) it goes way
up toward Alaska,” Heikkila
said.
“Alaska is having real
problems with hot water this
year. There seems to be a nar-
rower band of cooler water
anywhere from 30 to 100
miles off the beach, the area
where we normally catch fi sh
in the summer, and it seems
there a lot of hot water off-
shore. I can’t really say I
can compare this year to
any so far. It’s just a little bit
different.”
Hispanic council seeks new executive director
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
The Lower Columbia
Hispanic Council is search-
ing for a new e xecutive
d irector .
Jorge Gutierrez accepted
a new job in Seattle after six
years with the organization.
He stepped down in July.
Maritza Romero has
been named i nterim e xecu-
tive d irector during the tran-
sition. She has been with the
council since 2015 and has
managed f amily e ngage-
ment , e arly l earning and
K-12.
“We have grown from a
team of two working in a
very small offi ce space at
the Duncan Law Building.
Thanks to Jorge’s vision
and work, we now have a
fully-equipped team and
a great new offi ce space,”
Romero said in a statement.
“I’m very grateful to have
the opportunity to take on
the role as the i nterim e xec-
utive d irector and lead the
team in this transition.”
The Lower Columbia
Hispanic Council moved
to the new location in the
Miller-Jeffers B uilding on
Duane Street in May.
Gutierrez formed an
advisory committee, La
Voz de la Comunidad —
The Voice of the Commu-
nity — in 2015 to address
the issue of Hispanic fami-
lies being underrepresented
in decision-making pro-
cesses that affect their over-
all health. The committee
has over 30 active members
and volunteers.
“We have embraced the
importance of understand-
ing Hispanic health, social
and economic inequities
and address those issues by
elevating the voices of our
people,” Fernando Rodri-
guez, the council’s presi-
dent, wrote in a statement.
Gutierrez also shifted
the council’s work from
being primarily service-ori-
ented to taking an upstream
approach when building
programs and services.
“We don’t have the
words to express our grat-
itude to Jorge’s dedication
and accomplishments and
he will be truly missed,”
Rodriguez said. “We are
also thankful for our local
supporters and volunteers
that have donated their
time and funds toward our
work.”